Review of Anna Karenina (2012) by John M — 06 Mar 2013

Sometimes you can judge a movie by its cover. So this is about a married woman (Keira Knightley) in the late 19th century who succumbs to the temptations of adultery. Now I am, admittedly, not generally one who goes for airy period pieces, but disregarding that for a moment, Anna Kerenina already features insurmountable problems with me; our main protagonist is playing such an unsympathetic four-letter-word, it's disgusting.

She is impossible to relate to because 1. she is hypocritically righteous at every turn, and 2. she is a weak, helpless character who lets the men in her life make every decision for her. It is just petty and tedious throughout, and there is a secondary plot that could have been removed completely, and nothing would have been lost, save twenty-five minutes of the runtime.

I do see why they got Joe Wright to direct this, as there are some well-conceived tracking shots featured here (something he is known for), and if there is any praise to be doled out, it is to the cinematography and the concepts behind the production design.

It is cool to see them make scenery changes as if it were a stage play, although they quickly abandon that after the first act. Still, that can only go so far, and this movie never at any point engaged me.